Biomedical Engineering Design 4A (Credit or above).
You are expected to have completed a substantial part of your undergraduate degree (all third year courses).

Course Description

In fourth year Biomedical Engineering Design, development of advanced technical design skills together with integrated business and personal skills, will be continued through substantial project work. You will undertake a major individual design project and will practice professional levels of documentation, customer liaison and reporting. The projects will demand high levels of technical competence and organisational skills and will provide practice in exercising enterprise skills. Projects may be industry based.

You will be required to liaise with your chosen academic supervisor and or clinician on a weekly basis to promote successful completion of your project. Project progress will be regularly tracked and form part of the final assessment. You are expected to spend a minimum of ten (10) self-directed hours per week on the design project during each semester. The course also consists of an one (1) hour lecture (first six weeks) and a weekly one (1) hour workshop (weeks 2 - 7 only).

To gain entry into Biomedical Engineering Design 4B (OENG1104) you must obtain an overall course score of a credit (60) or above in Biomedical Engineering Design 4A (OENG1103) or have a cumulative GPA to date >= 2.0.

If your overall score in Biomedical Engineering Design 4A is below a credit level and a cumulative GPA to date of < 2.0, you will not be permitted to enroll in the course and will need to complete an additional program Technical Elective to satisfy the requirements of the degree.

If your overall score in Biomedical Engineering Design 4A is at least a credit average or a cumulative GPA >= 2.0, you will be permitted to undertake Engineering Design 4B. Furthermore you are not permitted to overload your enrolment while undertaking Biomedical Engineering Design 4B.

Please note that if you take this course for a bachelor honours program, your overall mark in this course will be one of the course marks that will be used to calculate the weighted average mark (WAM) that will determine your award level. (This applies to students who commence enrolment in a bachelor honours program from 1 January 2016 onwards. See the WAM information web page for more information (www1.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=eyj5c0mo77631).

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course develops the following Program Learning Outcomes:
1.1 Comprehensive, theory based understanding of the underpinning natural and physical sciences and the engineering fundamentals applicable to the engineering discipline.
1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the biomedical engineering discipline.
1.5 Knowledge of contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline.
1.6 Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of contemporary biomedical engineering practice in the specific discipline.
2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex biomedical engineering problem solving.
2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources.
2.3 Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes.
2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects.
3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability.
3.2 Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
3.3 Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour.
3.4 Professional use and management of information, and issues of privacy and confidentiality of medical data.
3.5 Orderly management of self, and professional conduct.

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

Apply critical and creative thinking in the design/development of biomedical engineering projects products/processes.

Plan and manage your time effectively as a team.

Consider the business context and commercial positioning of designed devices or systems.

Apply knowledge of the ‘real world’ situations that a professional engineer can encounter.

Utilise fundamental knowledge and skills in biomedical engineering and apply it effectively on a project.

Design and develop a functional product/process prototype while working in a multidisciplinary team comprising of engineers, clinicians and medical staff, in a hospital environment.

Undertake an engineering project under mentorship.

Timely reflect on your own and peers’ technical and non-technical learning.

Communicate in aural or written form using the relevant terminologies with multidisciplinary team members often consists of engineers from different disciplines, doctors, nurses, researchers and administrators.

Overview of Learning Activities

The individual design project provides the backbone to this course. This is a project-based learning activity that will require you to exercise many of the skills required in engineering employment. Project work will help you to connect theory with practice. Project work must involve:

Weekly meetings with your academic supervisor recorded by meeting minutes with action points.

Detailed project plan with a comprehensive timeline and milestones.

Systematic documentation.

A comprehensive literature survey.

Actual hardware/software/presentation/documentation work required to produce the deliverables on time.

A series of design lectures will supplement the course and seek to guide you to important concepts and give you many practical hints relating to Engineering Design, workplace skills, seeking employment, graduate attributes and practical Engineering concepts. In addition, the workshops and reflective discussions will guide you through the project development

Overview of Learning Resources

Lecture Notes as applicable

You will be expected to have access suitable computing equipment for system development. Required software will be made available where possible.

Relevant specialised equipment and software will be made available in laboratories and for loan where possible.

You are expected to tailor the scope of your project to resource availability.

Course resources will be made available on-line as required.

Overview of Assessment

This course is primarily assessed through your work contribution to a Major Project, project thesis and Journal (weekly meeting minutes with action points), detailed project plan with a comprehensive timeline and milestones, demonstration of project outcome and presentation.